Online fraud: Two BSNL employees among five arrested in Odisha

Commissionerate Police unearthed an online fraud racket and arrested five members of the gang including two staffs of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).

The five arrested are Akhilesh Pandey, Satish Yadav and Arun Mishra of West Bengal, head clerk Dhruba Charan Khatoi and a contractual employee Krutibas Kandi of BSNL’s Salepur Telecom sub-division.

DCP Sanjeev Arora said one Sanjeev Das of Sector 8 in CDA had filed a FIR with Markatnagar police on December 18 last year alleging that Rs 25 lakh had been transferred online from his daughter’s account in the branch of Bank of India (BOI) without her knowledge.

Acting on the FIR, Markatnagar police registered a case. During investigation, it was revealed that the racketeers hacked the bank accounts and transferred the money using duplicate SIM cards.

Arora said the accused duplicated the victim’s registered mobile number used in Internet banking from BSNL’s Salepur Telecom sub-divisional office by submitting forged documents in the name of Sanjeev Das. After securing the one time password (OTP), the accused transferred the amount from the victim’s account 71 times through online transactions on November 27 and 28 by using the forged SIM card.

The three accused, who were arrested from West Bengal, were brought on transit remand for three days for interrogation after being produced in Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court at Barrakpore. They were produced before SDJM Court in Cuttack on Saturday. The two BSNL employees, who were arrested on the charges of providing duplicate SIM card without verifying the documents, have been forwarded to the court.